Visa!

Today I got my visa in the mail! It's much more colorful than I imagined it would be. (And I'm glad that the picture on it actually looks like me, as opposed to my passport picture, which is from 3 years ago when I still had SUPER flattering braces and glasses.)
Yesterday I did a webinar phone call thing with a few of the other kids going to French Belgium, along with a returnee (who actually went to Flanders, but still had a lot of helpful information about Belgium/being an exchange student in general). It was really nice to talk to someone who has been there and who can answer all our crazy-specific questions.
Still no host family....but the good news is that I leave in 3 weeks (Well, 2 weeks and 6 days...:)) so I'm bound to know soon! I also bought two suitcases (a small carry-on and a bigger one that I can check) at Marshalls that are both fit the size requirements for the airline, but are also really lightweight!
That's all for now, hopefully I'll be updating soon with details about my location!

Visa Information!

Last night I got an email from AFS with info all about getting my visa! They're going to send me some documents in the mail soon too (I might get them today, not sure yet). It seems like it's going to be a lot of boring work, but I'm happy that I can start working on it now! We might have to go down to the NYC consulate because you're supposed to be there in person. However, it's all kind of unclear, so we might be able to do it by mail, and it will just take a little longer. I have three choices of languages to do the paperwork in: French, Dutch, or German. My french is still very much a work in progress, but this will probably scare me into practicing more!

Still no word about my placement/ host family. I'm sure I'll get an email about it soon...it seems only fair, considering I've been checking my email constantly since I got accepted!

Travel Information!

I just got an email from AFS with all my departure information! My orientation starts at 4PM on August 17th, and I'm scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 7:55 AM on August 19th! My flight is really long...but I love airplanes so that's okay. :)
I'm only allowed one small carry-on and a check-in weighing up to 44 pounds. That's what I was expecting, but it will take some practice to make sure I don't pack too much!
That's all for now, hopefully I will hear about a host family soon!

Thank you

I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who has helped me get to $400 on my ChipIn widget! I was waiting to make this post, because usually AFS will send me an email (with info on who has donated), but it has been a while and I haven't gotten one. Regardless, I want to say thank you! With the dollar-for-dollar bonus from AFS during the month of April, this blog raised $800 for my tuition!

I got an email a few days ago from my AFS advisor, with a letter attached from the people at AFS Belgium. My (estimated) departure dates are August 14-17, which is basically what I expected. That's less than 4 months! I still haven't found out anything about my town/ host family/ host school, but I probably won't find out for a few months.

My Pre-Departure Orientation is less than a month away!

New Widget and Other Blogs

I just added a Chip In widget from the AFS website to my blog! You should see it to the right of this post, above the view counter. Basically, it's a way for people to help me out by donating to my tuition cost. Any help would be MUCH appreciated! Also, during the month of April, AFS will be matching every dollar I get through ChipIn, up to $500. That means $5 would turn into $10! How exciting!
If you would like to help me out, even just a little bit, click the orange "Chip In" button, and log into PayPal or enter your credit card information there. You don't have to have/create a PayPal account!

As a sidenote, if you are interested in following other exchange blogs, you can click here to see the ones I am following. Some of them are on exchange right now, and others are leaving next year like me! Most of the people I follow are going somewhere in Europe, but if you go here, there is a list of exchangers going to a bunch of places!

Pre Departure Orientation!

Today I got an email about my Pre-Departure Orientation! It's on May 22nd, so I have a little while to wait, but I'm excited that I know when it will be. I'm looking forward to meeting other outbounds! (Even if they aren't going to the same place as me)

I can count the months before I leave on one hand now!

I haven't been on here in months! A lot has happened since then. I got officially accepted by AFS Belgium French last week! I'm so excited. That basically means that AFS Belgium has guaranteed me a spot in their program, and they will be able to find me a host family. My departure date is approximately August 15-18! It sounds far away, but it's only 5 1/2 months!
Right now, all I really have to do is wait. In a month or two I'll be getting my visa and going to pre-departure orientations, and about a month or so before I leave I should hear about my host family!
That's all for now. :)
Olivia